Time for brands to change their approach when marketing to Australian mums

The first insights released today from the latest research report from Kidspot.com.au (Australia’s leading parenting website) puts the buying habits of Australian mums under the microscope and reveals what has the greatest influence on their decisions at each stage of the purchase journey. Based on a quantitative study of 2,165 mums conducted between August and September this year, across www.kidspot.com.au and www.birth.com.au plus Facebook, the study set out to help marketers successfully connect with this coveted demographic.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are 2.7M households with dependent children in Australia – which is approximately one third of the 8M total households in the country. At least 85% of these households have a mum in residence. The presence of a mum is a vital factor to marketers, as mums tend to be the key influencers and purchasers for both themselves and their families.

The ‘awareness’ stage (where mums first come to hear about a new brand or product) is heavily influenced by word of mouth referral. 62% of respondents nominated their network of friends and family as a strong influencer at this point. TV has the most influence from a channel perspective (58% of respondents) but the gap between this more traditional advertising method and digital alternatives, such as specialist websites (41%), is definitely closing.

Channels of influence for ‘PRODUCT AWARENESS’

Digital and social channels wield more impact as a mum moves through the purchase funnel into the ‘consideration’ phase where she seeks more information about the product and turns to other avenues for more detailed research. 5 of the top 6 influencers in this step are digital, with specialist websites (i.e. true verticals that are subject matter experts) having the strongest influence of all (50% of all respondents). Online forums outweigh the influence that TV or magazines have at this stage with 30% of respondents nominating comments in these forums as influential versus 27% for TV and magazines.

Channels of influence for ‘PRODUCT CONSIDERATION’

The all important final step – product purchase – is dominated once again by referrals. When it comes to making a purchase decision, recommendations from known people have the strongest influence on mums (63%). Her digital world plays a significant role with online reviews and forums plus both specialist and brand websites also rating highly as powerful influencers.

Channels of influence for ‘PRODUCT PURCHASE’

“With the rise of specialist parenting websites and social networking, mums are becoming less dependent on traditional media and offline brand advertising to inform purchase decisions,” said Katie May, CEO of Kidspot.com.au and the author of the study. “Marketers can extend brand engagement and increase purchase consideration by interacting with mums in their space and leveraging the influence of her friends and community. Online comments and information rule the final steps in the purchase funnel and marketers cannot afford to ignore this.”